Professor of Intellectual Property Law

Profile

Professor Spyros Maniatis is Professor of Intellectual Property Law and has been Head of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies since 2008. During this time he has encouraged the growth of the Centre in terms of size, portfolio of activities, and international reputation. The Centre now has more than 1200 postgraduate taught and research students from around 100 jurisdictions.

Professor Maniatis has led the internationalisation strategy for CCLS and developed a number of programmes away from London, including: a CCLS LLM in Paris; a double LLM programme in Paris with the Sorbonne; a double LLM programme with Singapore Management University, and an executive LLM in shipping in Piraeus.

Under his leadership CCLS has added new areas to its teaching and research specialisms with shipping, energy, insurance, art, regulation, and language and the law now amongst its offerings. A new MBA/LLMA with ESCP Europe, a Masters in Compliance and Regulation, and a distance learning MBA with the University of London has also been developed.

Prior to his appointment as Head of CCLS Professor Maniatis oversaw, as LLM Director, the successful transition of our offerings from the University of London intercollegiate LLM to a QMUL LLM.

The third edition of his work on the development of trade mark law in Europe came out in 2016.

He has worked closely with the IP professions contributing to the Certificate in Trade Mark Law and Practice with the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys.

Postgraduate Teaching

Research

Research Interests:

His research interests cover international trade, the history of jurisprudence of trade mark and unfair competition law, intellectual property in China, and the interface between competition and trade mark law.

Works in progress include a book on competition and trade marks and an edited volume on intellectual property and competition in China (OUP).

Trade Marks in Europe: A Practical Jurisprudence, (2nd ed.) with D. Botis. Sweet and Maxwell, 2010. Reviewed in:European Intellectual Property Law Review 2010, 32(7), 368: “It is this combination of comprehensive coverage and in depth analysis that makes this book such a valuable research tool. This is European Union trade mark law in all its diversity presented at its best.”

Trade Marks in Europe: A Practical Jurisprudence. Sweet and Maxwell, 2006. Reviewed in:European Intellectual Property Review 2007, 29(6), 256; Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys Journal 2007, 36(7), 409 97(5) The Trademark Reporter 2007, 1215 The book examines how the European Court of Justice interprets and applies European trade mark law. It considers its development from basic principles, through unfair competition and free movement of goods cases, to the creation of the Community Trade Mark and makes a comparison with the jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court. It is the first book that tackles the topic from historical, jurisprudential, and comparative angles.

Domain Names: Global Policy and Procedure, with J.R. Olsen, N. Wood, and D. Zografos West & Sweet & Maxwell, 2000. Reviewed in:European Intellectual Property Review 2003, 25(6), 287;Business Law Review, 2001, 22(11), 255. A multi-jurisdictional work, in two volumes, that reviews how domain names are assigned and regulated. It covers generic top level domains and country code domains. Updates are published twice yearly. It has been the first of its kind and is now the standard work for practitioners; widely cited worldwide including the two established works on trade mark law in the USA (McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition and Callmann on Monopolies, Trademarks and Unfair Competition).

Trade Marks, Trade Names, and Unfair Competition World Law and Practice, with J.R. Olsen and C. Garrigues. Sweet & Maxwell (FT Law & Tax), 1996. Reviewed in:European Intellectual Property Review 1997, 19(7), 390; 87 Trademark Reporter 342 (1997);Trademark World November/December 1997, 22. A comprehensive multi-jurisdictional work in three volumes; it provides information and commentary on unfair competition and trade mark law and practice of one hundred and eighty jurisdictions. It also covers current case law developments. Updates are published three times yearly. The project took three years to develop from initial idea to publication. Its key advantages are the use of a common format and the equal coverage provided for all the jurisdictions. It is one of the two major works in this field globally; cited by McCarthy and Callmann.

“Shapes as Trade Marks: Public Policy, Functional Considerations and Consumer Perception”, with A. Firth and E. Gredley, in European Intellectual Property Law Review 2001, 23(2), 86-99

“Parody, A Fatal Attraction? Part I - The Nature of Parody and its Treatment in Copyright”, with E. Gredley, in European Intellectual Property Review 1997, 19(7), 339-344. Cited with approval by the Constitutional Court of South Africa in: Laugh It Off Promotions v. South African Breweries Int. (27 May 2005), available at: constitutionalcourt.org.za/uhtbin/hyperion-image/J-CCT42-04

“A Quixotic Raid against the Tobacco Mill of Advertising”, with A. Kamperman-Sanders, in European Intellectual Property Review 1997, 19(5), 237-242.

Chapters in books

“Property Rights in Brand Image: The Contribution of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal to the Free-Riding Theory of Trade Mark Protection”, in EUIPO (ed), 20 years of the Boards of Appeal at EUIPO, Anniversary Book, Celebrating the Past, Looking Forward to the Future, Alicante, 2017 (co-authored with A.G. Chronopoulos)